Wednesday, October 10, 2007

THUMBS UP, THUMBS DOWN.....

The past couple of days I got to catch up on some films I'd been meaning to see. One film exceeded my expectations while the other I found rather disappointing.

Last night I caught a screening of the Russell Crowe western, 3:10 To Yuma.

This particular film was highly recommended to me by OPIE CUNNINGHAM of all people, so I approached this film with particular trepidation (no offense, OPIE). He's one with, ahem, interesting tastes in film, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

However, I have to say, I found myself totally engrossed by the film right away and riveted by the acting and all of the plot twists all the way until the end

This film is a remake of the 1957 classic about a small-time rancher (Christian Bale) who agrees to hold a captured outlaw (Russell Crowe) who's awaiting a train to go to court in Yuma, Arizona. A battle of wills ensues as the outlaw tries to psych out the rancher. As I mentioned before, there are a lot of plot twists along the way and a interesting relationship forms between the two adversaries. Expect varying degrees of violence as this film does take place in the old shoot-em-up days of the Wild West.

Normally I don't mind a good western film, as long as the plotline makes sense and the acting isn't too cheesy. This particular film, with its stellar cast, hits a home run. How often do you find yourself pulling for the bad guy, as you'll somehow find yourself doing for Russell Crowe? And Bale, playing a rancher who's down on his luck with two sons he's trying to impress, gives an underrated gem of a performance as well. The supporting cast is top-notch too. THUMBS UP!!

On the other hand, THE DARJEELING LIMITED, the latest film by one of my favorite directors, WES ANDERSON proved to be a bit of a disappointment for me.

The story revolves around three screwed up, estranged brothers (OWEN WILSON, JASON SCHWARTZMAN, ADRIAN BRODY) setting out on a spiritual train journey through India to repair their own relationships after one tries to kill himself after the death of their father (wonder which one?).

The film had its traditional Wes Anderson nuances (dry sense of humor, attention to detail, dysfunctional family storylines, etc.), but the formula that worked in his prior films (RUSHMORE, THE ROYAL TENNENBAUMS), just didn't work for me this time. Maybe I'll have to give it another try, but if you have to watch a film more than a few times to "get it", then what does that say about the film (or me for that matter)? It does have a catchy soundtrack though. THUMBS DOWN.

On another note, I've taken to letting my beard grow, to show solidarity to my baseball team, THE CLEVELAND INDIANS, while they continue on their quest to make it to (and ultimately win) the World Series. So if you see me and I appear to be a bit "scruffy", at least you'll understand why. I've also found myself a bit "vexed" at the fact that I can't seem to get a C.C. SABATHIA jersey as they seem to be sold out for some reason. (wtf?).

TONIGHT: For all of you local hockey enthusiasts out there, tonight is the first meeting between rivals THE NEW YORK RANGERS vs ISLANDERS and we'll carry that game live at 7pm. Speaking of hockey, THIRD and LONG will be carrying the NHL CENTER ICE package, which means we'll have ALL NHL HOCKEY GAMES, all season long! Look out for great drink specials just for you hockey fans!

And while we're on the subject of hockey, it looks like the NHL has taken a page from the NBA's book of marketing and opened its own flagship store, THE NHL STORE (located on 6th Avenue and 47th Street, on the ground floor of the NHL's new headquarters). Looks pretty impressive. Let's hope they run the store better than they do with the league.

Ah... lest we forget, drink specials. TONIGHT: $3.00 Mixed Well Drinks (for all ladies), $3.00 Michelob Light and Ultra and $2.50 PBR Cans (5/$10.00) for everyone!!!



NUFF said